The invention relates to a keyboard, actuatable with the aid of the fingers of at least one hand, which keyboard includes, in a support frame, a normal row of keys, each of which can be moved out of an initial position of the fingers by the tips of the index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger, respectively. With the known keyboards of this kind, the hand, the fingers of which are to actuate the keyboard, is normally held poised above the keyboard, with constant strain on the muscles of the upper arm and, in particular, of the fore-arm, and the tips of the operating fingers should either not rest at all on the keys of a normal or guide row, or should only rest on them so lightly that the keys are not actuated. The keys of modern typewriters and similar machines, however, can be so finely set that even a very slight pressure suffices to actuate them. With these modern machines it is not possible to rest the fingertips truly on the keys, when not actuating them, to an extent such that, in particular, the muscles of the fore-arm must largely or completely provide the effort involved in keeping the wrist continuously raised.
Furthermore, operation by touch, particularly on typewriters, requires that the wrist of the hand, the fingers of which are actuating the keys, or the wrists of both hands be held in, or continuously moved back to, a position in which the actuating fingers are poised immediately above certain keys of a normal or guide row of the keyboard so as to enable either the key located below a finger-tip or a key positioned above, below or to the side of that key, to be struck from this initial position without the lettering on the keys having first been read. Therefore, with the known keyboards, the entire "writing" procedure by actuation of the keys involves considerable strain on all the muscles of the arm and corresponding mental concentration simply for the purpose of continuously bringing the fingers back to the initial position above the normal row of keys. This is fatiguing and often leads to irritation of the nervous system and discomfort to the wrist and fore-arm.